[Swordsmanship] Swords versus Fencing

I was wondering what your opinion was about this. I have a paladin/Bushido/fencer right now. And he just doesn't seem to do as well at pvm as my friend with the exact same template other than swords. So I was just wondering which you all prefer and why.
Thanks

it only depends on the weps you use. For a dexxer it's all equipment. That said, I can't think of a two handed fence weapon that has the damage output of let's say a 40ssi ornate axe. Fence weps are faster but with less base damage, so a normally slow axe with high base damage boosted with plenty of ssi will outdamage fence weapons. Basically due to the 300 % DI cap (easy to hit with a chiv/bush template) on the one side and the swing cap (easy to hit with plenty of dex and a fast wep) on the other. So for high end weapons the speed advantage of fencing weps won't make up for the damage advantage of axes. Only talking bout pvm ofc.

Thank you for the information. I just started playing UO again after a 3 year hiatus. So as you can guess things have definitely changed. You mentioned using an axe. Does lumberjacking still big make a difference, as far as PVM goes?

Thank you for the information. I just started playing UO again after a 3 year hiatus. So as you can guess things have definitely changed. You mentioned using an axe. Does lumberjacking still big make a difference, as far as PVM goes?

Click to expand...

it still has a dmg bonus at gm (I think it is 10%, maybe 15 I really can't remember), but it is kind of hard to fit it in in todays cramped templates on one hand, and dmg increase items are not hard to get on the other. So other than for chopping wood I don't think it is widely used on dexxer templates anymore.

Stratics Veteran

The lumberjacking modifiers aren't as effective as anatomy or tactics modifiers or chivalry or bushido, so most people leave it off of the already tight warrior templates.

The reason that people use the axes anyway is that the ornate axe has the highest amount of damage over time than any other weapon as long as you can swing at the maximum swing speed. At less than the maximum swing speed, people should choose other weapons, but some people like the ugly-axe anyway. It hits HARD.

The advantage of fencing is you can use less dex and still be just as good as a max-dex fencer, leaving more room in your template for strength or intelligence. The ability to chain special moves is very useful in both PvM and PvP. But that can also be countered by using a high mana leeching weapon.

The advantage of mace fighting is that mace weapons and power scrolls tend to be a lot cheaper than fencing, swords or archery weapons and scrolls, and the diamond mace is far-and-away the most powerful one handed weapon.

Stratics is the oldest continually running MMORPG Fansite on the Internet. Founded in 1997 Stratics has served the Ultima Online Community for 18 years. We strive to provide the most complete social experience for Ultima Online players.